Page 11 of Entwined in Norway

‘So, no.’

‘No. But I know the view’s great if you like a hike.’ She tried not to be disheartened that this wasn’t going how she’d hoped it might.

‘Okay, thanks. I might try that tomorrow.’

He walked away, heading upstairs, and Ida forced herself not to watch him. He didn’t deserve her attention. If he wasn’t interested or able to be cordial, she wouldn’t make any more effort to get to know him. Although she couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like to be the woman who got him to crack a smile.

6

Okay, the island might be beautiful and relaxing, but there was nothing to do. The thought of being somewhere like this had been so appealing before he actually got here, but in the space of a few hours, it had turned him back into the grumpy guy he’d been before he got to Norway. The days he’d spent in Oslo and Bergen had given him hope that he might have shrugged off the cloud that had sat over him for the past few months. A change of scenery had helped his mood until now. What was that about?

It was too late in the day to set off to kayak across the fjord and hike through the forest. He wanted to take his time over that, partly because he thought it would give him some answers and partly because he needed to take it easy. Gone were the days of bounding up the side of a mountain in no time at all and being back in time for dinner.

After a very late lunch and an awkward encounter with Ida, who seemed to be ribbing him for kayaking over here, he headed upstairs to change into his swim shorts. It was June. What had started as a slightly questionable day had turned out pretty nice, if not as warm as a day would normally have to be for him to think about getting into a body of water for a swim. But what else was there to do?

With a towel tucked under his arm and a t-shirt on, he went back downstairs where there was no sign of Ida at the desk, and headed out. The jetty seemed the obvious place to take a dip from, but he didn’t want to swim where someone might be watching. It would be good to take a walk around the island anyway, and he might come across an equally suitable swimming spot.

He turned right out of the hotel entrance, in the opposite direction to the boat jetty, and into the woods. The coolness enveloped him, and the smell of the damp woodland floor reminded him of the camping holidays his family used to take when he was younger. It felt like a link to home, and he suddenly felt a pang of homesickness. Maybe he would call his mom later.

Dotted throughout the woods were small wooden cabins in various states of disrepair, all with thick, mossy roofs and painted wooden exteriors in various faded shades of red and blue. He walked over to one and peered through the broken window. It had an old cast-iron stove in the corner, but that was all. The planks that made up the floor looked sound enough, but the sides of the cabin had seen better days and were rotted here and there. Kind of a wasted opportunity to have these empty when the hotel was fully booked. They could use these for additional accommodation if they smartened them up. Maybe there was a bit more to it than smartening them up, but it was a good idea.

He came out of the woods close to the opposite end of the island. This also had a jetty, although it was smaller, and the most spectacular view further into the fjord. The mountains that had risen up next to him as he’d reached the island earlier on continued to become more and more spectacular until now, they rose majestically up in front of him, dwarfing the island beneath them. It was breathtaking.

Erik sat on a chair that was next to the site of an old campfire and drank in the view. Had his great-grandfather set eyes on this all those years ago? He felt an odd connection to the place. It kind of grounded him. If he could just shake off this fug.

After a few more minutes, during which the sun had warmed him back up after the walk through the woods, making him feel a little more like cooling off in the fjord, he peeled his t-shirt off, toed his boots off and walked over the grass to the wooden jetty. The water looked clear and inviting, not dissimilar to how some of the lakes looked at home. Being no stranger to taking a dip in those, he knew it would be a mistake to test the water. He also knew that the first rule of swimming safely in a place like this was not to jump in. If you went under and then gasped from the cold, you’d be in trouble.

He sat on the jetty and, with one hand firmly on the edge, purposefully lowered himself in.

‘Ha!’ He yelled at the top of his voice as the freezing water registered against his skin. And it really was freezing. Maybe this was enough. But he took some deep breaths, trying to steady his breathing, then braved letting go altogether, taking a rapid swim along the edge of the island. Not very far, because even after a few strokes his fingers were going numb, but he felt an exhilaration he’d been craving.

That was enough. He braced his hands on the jetty and lifted himself out, the gentle sun warming his skin and making him feel like the king of the world for what he’d just accomplished. Then, as quickly as that feeling came, it was pushed aside by the ever-present knowledge that he’d never get that from snowboarding again, and his mood crashed.

He rubbed himself down with the towel and sat on the chair, looking out at the view again. He’d thought coming here, getting away from the place where it all happened, would help. It had helped for a couple of days, but maybe the jet lag had kept those feelings at bay until now. His mom had said gently, time and time again, that this was something he had to work through. He had to come to terms with the fact that his life would be different from what he’d planned. And he had. Mostly. This place had given him too much time to think; that was the problem.

But the water had helped for a minute. Dealing with the cold had stopped anything else from happening in his brain, and it had felt good while it lasted. He stood up, went back to the jetty, and looked back down into the water. Now he knew what he was in for it didn’t seem so tempting. He chuckled to himself, reached a hand down to brace himself, and jumped back in. This time the euphoria came more quickly, and he swam a few strokes before noticing he was grinning. It felt good, but still freezing. He pushed himself out, and this time the feeling didn’t fade as quickly.

After he towelled himself dry again, he pulled his t-shirt and his boots on and headed back through the woods to the hotel. He had a quick shower, keeping the water cold to see whether it might prolong the lift in his mood. It wasn’t the same kind of cold; it just made his shower a bit miserable, so it wasn’t an experiment he was going to repeat.

He rubbed his hair dry, dressed, and then grabbed his phone. On his way back from his swim, he’d noticed that the spacious lounge was pretty quiet, so he went downstairs and ordered a coffee before taking a seat in an armchair next to one of the big windows.

‘Hey, Mom.’

‘Erik! Where are you calling from, honey?’

‘I’m on the island, in the hotel. I’ve just been for a swim in the fjord.’ The woman who delivered his coffee right at that moment raised her eyebrows as he said that. Was it an unusual thing to do?

‘Oh, wow. Is it beautiful there?’

‘Yeah, you’d love it here. There’s nothing to do. You could read all day long.’

She laughed. ‘You’re right. I would love that. As it is, I’m doing your dad’s accounts. So you arrived there today?’

‘Uh huh. I hired a kayak and paddled over this morning.’

‘You did? How far is it?’

‘It took less than an hour, and I took a wrong turn.’